Video Games Affect Brain Activity

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, November 29, 2006; 12:00 AM

By Lucy Williams, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Could violent video games change the way your child thinks? New research reveals video games activate parts of the brain that control emotional arousal and inhibition.

In a recent study, researchers compared brain activity in adolescents who played violent video games and those who played non-violent video games. Those who played violent video games showed brain activation in the area associated with emotional arousal.

"After playing the violent video game, that group of adolescents showed significantly more activation in the amygdala, which is a part of the brain involved in emotional arousal," study author Vincent Mathews, M.D., of Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, told Ivanhoe. "Areas of the brain involved in self-control, inhibition and attention showed less activation in those who played the violent video game compared to those who played the non-violent video game."

Immediately after playing either a violent or non-violent video game for 30 minutes, study participants performed tasks measuring inhibition and concentration. Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to scan their brain activity. The two groups performed the tests with similar accuracy and reaction time, but the fMRI measurements reflected differences in brain activation between the groups.

Some people are concerned long-term exposure to violent media could cause changes in behavior, but researchers say the study only indicates changes in mental function. Further research is needed to determine whether video games have a long-term effect on behavior in young adults.

"We were looking at the intermediate step to see what was going on in the brain, but we didn't look at their behavior," Dr. Mathews said. "What we haven't done is look at how long this effect lasts, and those are things we'd like to look at in the future."

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Vincent Mathews, M.D., Indiana University School of Medicine; 92nd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 2006